Friction-clutch pulley



(No Model.)

G. L. ROLLINS. FRICTION CLUTCH PULLEY.

No. 406,063. Patented July 2, 1889..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE L. ROIILINS, ()F llltlDGElVATER, MASSACHUSETTS.

FRICTION-CLUTCH PU LLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 406,063, dated July 2, 1889.

Application filed February 7, 1388. Serial No. 263,253. (No model.)

To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, GEORGE L. ROLLINS, of Bridgewater, county of Plymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Friction-Clutch Pulleys, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object to construct a friction-clutch pulley which shall occupy very small space on a machine, be durable, and be easily and quickly operated.

In accordance with this invention the beltpulley is mounted loosely upon the shaft, it having, preferably, two annular flanges-one at its periphery and the other between its periphery and the hub of the pulley.

The friction-clutch device, forming the stationary member of the pulley, consists of a sleeve or hub fixed to the shaft and supporting one or more radially-extended guide-plates and one or, preferably, two friction-plates, the latter being adapted to slide on each radiallyextended guide-plate between the two annular flanges of the loose belt-pulley, so that when said plates are moved or separated one from the other they will engage the flanges of the pulley. If one friction-plate only is used, one of the flanges of the loose belt-pulley will be omitted. I have provided means for separating the friction-plates to engage the flanges, the said means being under the control of a moving inclined or wedge block operated by a shipperdever.

To make the pulley as compact as possible, the inclined or wedge block is arranged to be moved longitudinally with relation to the shaft and to reciprocate a square or other than round shaft interposed between the frictionplates.

Figure 1 shows in side elevation a frictionelutch pulley embodying this invention; Fig. 2, a partial left-hand side elevation and section of the pulley shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a detail of the frictioirplates, the loose pulley being removed.

The belt-pulley a is mounted loosely upon the shaft 1), said pulley having an outer or peripheral flange o and an inner flange, as 0. between the flange a and the hub of the pulley.

The stationary member of the pulley con sists of a sleeve or huh (I fixed to the shaft Z), it supporting one or more guide arms or frames 1', two being herein shown extending radially from the shaft, the said guide-arms receiving upon them and guiding two friction-plates f f, having curved engaging surfaces, and having at their rear sides suitable grooves 26 (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1) to embrace the said guides or frames. The friction-platesff are drawn toward each otherby springs 20, (see Fig. 1,) one end of each spring being connected with the plate f and the other end with the platef; or, in lieu of said springs, the friction-plate)" may be socketed (see Fig. 3) to receive loosely the screws 4, which enter threaded holes in the plate f, spiral springs 5, through which the said screws are passed, serving normally to keep the said plates f" pressed the one against the other or contracted in the space between the outer and A shaft g, hav-- inner l'langes of the pulley. ing its bearings in the guide frame or arm (1' and having one of its ends square or other than round in eross'seetion and entered be tween the two friction-platesff, has a short arm, as g, preferably provided at its outer end with an adjusting-screw The hub (I has on it a longitudinally-movable sleeve 0, having an annularly-grooved hub c, the said groove receiving pins or studs 3 of a yoke 0 forming part of or attached to a shipperlever of any usual or suitable construction. The sleeve 0 is provided with one or more longitudinally-inclined or wedge blocks or pro jections, as 0*, two being herein shown.

The adjusting-screw 22 at the end of the arm g bears upon the inclined or wedge block a, so that as the sleeve 0 is moved 1ongitudinally upon the hub (Z the said inclined or wedge block turns the arm g and rotates the shaft g, so that its squared end between the plates f f separates said plates, thus forcing them against the flanges a (t of the loose belt-pulley u, so that the belt-pulley in its rotation carries the shaft 7) with it.

I have herein shown two guide arms or frames (1 d, and hence I shall preferably use two friction-plates f f for each guide-frame, as shown; yet it is obvious that only one pair of friction-plates need be employed.

It will be seen that the clutch devices here in shown are mainly contained within the chambered end or flange a of the pulley, that the pulley and its clutch may occupy as little space as possible, compactness being especially desirable in connection With some machines, such as cotton-gins.

I claim- 1. In a clutch, the combination of the shaft 1?, a pulleyloosely mounted thereon having a peripheral and a concentric internal flange,a guide-arm, and a pair of normally contiguous friction-plates sliding thereon, combined With an oscillating shaft g, interposed between the said friction-plates, one of the diameters of which is greater than another, an arm 9', fixed to said shaft g at a right angle, and thereby moving in a plane at right angles to the shaft 1), the longitudinally-sliding sleeve, and the inclined-surfaced block thereon for moving said arm g to oscillate the shaft g and thereby separate the friction-plates, all substantially as described.

2. In a clutch, the shaft 1), the flanged pulley loose thereon, the guide-arms, and friction-plates sliding thereon, and the quadrangular oscillating shafts g for moving the said friction-plates, said shaft lying parallel with the shaft 1), combined With the arms g fixed at right angles to the shafts g and having the adjusting-screws 22, and the longitudinallysliding sleeve having the inclined-surfaced blocks thereon for moving said arms g, all substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses. v

GEO. L. ROLLINS. Witnesses:

G. W. GREGORY, B, DEWAR. 

